J.D. Zornoza

Results and prospects of dark matter searches with ANTARES

Abstract Dark matter is one of the most important scientific goals for neutrino telescopes. These instruments have particular advantages with respect to other experimental approaches. Compared to direct searches, the sensitivity of neutrino telescopes to probe the spin-dependent cross-section of WIMP-proton is unsurpassed. On the other hand, neutrino telescopes can look for dark matter in the Sun, so a potential signal would be a strong indication of dark matter, contrary to the case of other indirect searches like gammas or cosmic rays, where more conventional astrophysical interpretations are very hard to rule out. We present here the results of a binned search for neutralino annihilation in the Sun using data gathered by the ANTARES neutrino telescope during 2007–2008. These results include limits on the neutrino and muon flux and on the spin-dependent and spin-independent cross-section of the WIMP-proton scattering.

Dark matter search with the ANTARES neutrino telescope

Abstract The ANTARES neutrino telescope was completed in 2008 with the installation of its 12th line. Its scientific scope is very broad, but the two main goals are the observation of astrophysical sources and the indirect detection of dark matter. The latter is possible through neutrinos produced after the annihilation of WIMPs, which would accumulate in sources like the Sun, the Earth or the Galactic Centre. The neutralino, which arises in Supersymmetry models, is one of the most popular WIMP candidates. KK particles, which appear in Universal Extra Dimension models, are another one. Though in most models these annihilations would not directly produce neutrinos, they are expected from the decay of secondary particles. An important advantage of neutrino telescopes with respect to other indirect searches (like gamma rays or cosmic rays) is that a potential signal (for instance from the Sun) would be very clean, since no other astrophysical explanations could mimic it (like pulsars for the case of the positron excess seen by PAMELA). Moreover, the Galactic Centre is accessible for ANTARES, being in the Northern Hemisphere. In this talk I will present the results of the ANTARES telescope for dark matter searches, which include neutralino and KK particles.

Search for dark matter in the Sun with the ANTARES neutrino telescope in the CMSSM and mUED frameworks

Abstract ANTARES is the first neutrino telescope in the sea. It consists of a three-dimensional array of 885 photomultipliers to collect the Cherenkov light induced by relativistic muons produced in CC interactions of high energy neutrinos. One of the main scientific goals of the experiment is the search for dark matter. We present here the analysis of data taken during 2007 and 2008 to look for a WIMP signal in the Sun. WIMPs are one of the most popular scenarios to explain the dark matter content of the Universe. They would accumulate in massive objects like the Sun or the Galactic Center and their self-annihilation would produce (directly or indirectly) high energy neutrinos detectable by neutrino telescopes. Contrary to other indirect searches (like with gamma rays or positrons), the search for neutrinos in the Sun is free from other astrophysical contributions, so the interpretation of a potential signal in terms of dark matter is much more robust.

Results of dark matter searches with the ANTARES neutrino telescope

Neutrino telescopes have a wide scientic scope. One of their main goals is the detection of dark matter, for which they have specic advantages. Neutrino telescopes offer the possibility of looking at several kinds of sources, not all of them available to other indirect searches. In this work we provide an overview of the results obtained by the ANTARES neutrino telescope, which has been taking data for almost ten years. One of the most interesting ones is the Sun, since a detection of high energy neutrinos from it would be a very clean indication of dark matter, given that no signicant astrophysical backgrounds are expected, contrary to other indirect searches. Moreover, the limits from neutrino telescopes for spin-dependent cross section are the most restrictive ones. Another interesting source is the Galactic Centre, for which ANTARES has a better visibility than IceCube, due to its geographical location. This search gives limits on the annihilation cross section. Other dark matter searches carried out in ANTARES include the Earth and dwarf galaxies.

Results and prospects of deep under-ground, under-water and under-ice experiments

Abstract Astroparticle experiments have provided a long list of achievements both for particle physics and astrophysics. Many of these experiments require to be protected from the background produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The main options for such protection are to build detectors deep under ground (mines, tunnels) or in the deep sea or Antarctic ice. In this proceeding we review the main results shown in the RICAP 2013 conference related with these kind of experiments and the prospects for the future.

Search for neutrino point sources with ANTARES 2007-2012 data

Neutrinos are unique probes to study the high energy Universe, since they are neutral, only interact weakly and are stable. Furthermore, they can provide key information about several fundamental questions in Physics like the origin of cosmic rays and the nature of dark matter. The ANTARES neutrino telescope, installed in the Mediterranean Sea, has been taking data since 2007. In this paper we review the results concerning the search for point sources of cosmic neutrinos, using data of 2007–2012. Two main strategies have been followed: to look towards the direction of sources candidate to emmit neutrinos and to make an all-sky scan. Although no significant cluster has been found above the background, flux limits have been set at the level of E2φν90CL∼1–2×10−8 GeV cm−2s−1.

Dark matter searches with the ANTARES neutrino telescope: constraints to CMSSM and mUED models

ANTARES is the largest neutrino telescope Northern hemisphere. It consists of a threedimensional array of 885 photomultipliers to collect the Cherenkov light induced by relativistic muons produced in CC interactions of high energy neutrinos. One of the main scientific goals of the experiment is the search for dark matter. We present here the analysis of the recently unblinded data taken during 2007 and 2008 to look for a WIMP signal in the Sun. WIMPs are one of the most popular scenarios to explain the dark matter content of the Universe. They would accumulate in massive objects like the Sun or the Galactic Center and their self-annihilation would produce (directly or indirectly) high energy neutrinos detectable by neutrino telescopes. Contrary to other indirect searches (like with gamma rays or positrons), the search for neutrinos in the Sun is free from other astrophysical contributions, so the explanation of a potential signal in terms of dark matter would be much more robust. The results are interpreted within two theoretical frameworks: CMSSM and mUED.

Development of a New Laser Beacon for Time Calibration in the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

The ANTARES collaboration has built a deep sea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea consisting of a matrix of pressure resistant glass spheres holding large area photomultipliers. The aim of the telescope is to observe cosmic neutrinos through the Cerenkov light induced in sea water by charged particles produced in neutrino interactions with the surrounding medium. A relative time calibration between photomultipliers of the order of 1 ns is required to achieve an optimal performance. To this end, several time calibration subsystems have been developed for the whole telescope. In this article, the design, tests and integration of the last Laser Beacon model, developed to measure and monitor the relative time offsets between photomultipliers, are described.

First results of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope was completed in May 2008 with the installation of its twelfth detector line. The main goal of the experiment is the detection of high-energy neutrinos from extraterrestrial sources. Other searches, like neutralinos, are also possible. Since the connection of the first lines, the detector ANTARES has been providing data smoothly, enabling physics analyses. In this talk we describe the status of the operation of the telescope and its first results.